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Anthropology Department

Margaret Bender

Margaret Bender (Ph.D., University of Chicago). Margaret Bender received her A.B. degree in English from Cornell University, her A.M. in the social sciences from the University of Chicago, and her Ph.D. in Anthropology also from the University of Chicago. She has studied the relationship between language and culture in a variety of contexts—from political rhetoric in Iran to family literacy education in Chicago. Bender believes strongly that the study of language is essential to our understanding of cultures, persons, and events. Her recent book, Signs of Cherokee Culture: Sequoyah’s Syllabary in Eastern Cherokee Life, explored the religious, social and political implications of reading and writing in the Cherokee language. Bender’s research and teaching interests also include educational anthropology, gender studies, and Native American studies. She is currently working on a comparison of attitudes toward and practices related to fatherhood and masculinity in two Oklahoma Native American communities, and on linguistic analyses of Cherokee medicinal and religious texts. Bender teaches in Wake Forest’s Linguistics Program as well as in the Department of Anthropology.[2000]

Exciting Opportunities to Study in London This Spring--Some Scholarships Still Available!

Join Anthropology Professor Margaret Bender for a great experience exploring the unique cultural and linguistic environment of London at WFU’s Worrell House. A few spaces and scholarships are still available.
Details

In the program’s two anthropology courses, students will

Students will also take a course in British theatre that includes twelve live performances (free to students) and an art history class that will take them on weekly gallery tours.

Through this program, students will earn Division II, III, IV and CD credit!

For this spring only, special scholarships of up to $7,000 are available from International Studies; additional scholarships of up to $2,000 are available directly from Worrell House. For more information, contact Dr. Bender at bender@wfu.edu or 758-5326.

Recent Publications:

"Framing the Anomalous: Stoneclad, Sequoyah, and Cherokee Ethnoliteracy." In New Perspectives on Native North America (2006) (link to Nebraska Press)

Signs of Cherokee Culture: Sequoyah's Syllabary in Eastern Cherokee Life (2002) (link to UNC Press)

Signs of Cherokee Culture: Sequoyah's Syllabary in Eastern Cherokee Life (2002) (link to Amazon.com)

Linguistic Diversity in the South: Changing Codes, Practices, and Ideology (Southern Anthropological Society Proceedings, 37) (2004) (link to Amazon.com)

Contact:

Postal Mail:
Margaret Bender
Anthropology Department
PO Box 7807
Winston-Salem, NC 27109
Phone: 336.758.5326
Email: benderm@wfu.edu

 

Photo of Dr. Bender in "Cherokee country".